12/11/11

Is it sad that even though I haven’t set foot in a
McDonald’s since I was a teenager, the first thing I thought when I bit into
this potato was: Oh my God. I just made McDonald’s fries? But then, on the second potato, I changed my mind: No,
better than McDonald’s. Because there was
this mellow, round flavor from the olive oil. With my third potato, things got
weird. I imagined marching into a McDonald’s and saying: “You call that a
potato? (I would motion towards their potatoes at this point, obviously.) No. This is a potato.” Then, I would dig into my pocket and
produce one of my potatoes. They
would try it, agree with me, then lift me up on their shoulders and parade me
through the city!

But before I get carried away, I need to tell you how I
arrived at these remarkably crispy potatoes, as I believe I learned a valuable
life lesson from them, and if there’s anything one knows about valuable life
lessons, it’s that they need to be shared.

It began with a headache—I get migraines. And though I have
prescription drugs for them, sometimes I don’t want to take the medicine
because it can make me feel like a space cadet / almost as non-functioning as I
am with the migraine. So, last week when I got one, I tried to sleep on it. I
went to bed early, only to wake up in the middle of the night with the pain much
worse than it was when I went to sleep. I took a pill, felt sorry for myself,
and then woke up 4 hours later all woozy.

That afternoon, I was feeling better and mentioned the
headache to my dear friend, who of course, I’ve mentioned these headaches to in
the past, and she told me how she believes there’s a link between blocking
fun/pleasure and head pressure and basically prescribed me two hours to myself. To be exact, her actual emailed words were: “Take 2
hours TOTALLY FOR YOURSELF. Do not cook food for Matt. Do not get writing done.
Go and play with your inner girl child.” (Right now, Matt’s like: Wait a
second. How did I get wrapped up into this?)

I must say that I loved the
idea. Who wouldn’t? Two hours to yourself. Of course, I couldn’t start right that moment. I decided I would
finish up the writing I was working on and then take my two hours. And not cook dinner for Matt? I
liked where her head was at, but let’s get real. I had already bought the
ingredients for that night's dinner. Plus, Matt was at work and it wouldn’t be very nice to skip
out on him, especially since on days I work and he doesn't, he always cooks a
great dinner for me. So, once I worked through my tasks,
I finally shut my laptop, looked around the apartment and repeated the words in
my head: Take two hours to myself.

But what to do? My pal had
suggested things like going to a park or a café, but those didn’t resonate with
me. And everything I came up with seemed either too indulgent (going to the movies alone) or too
expensive (going shopping). So, I just stood there, re-asking myself: What
should I do? What would be fun? It must
have been at least five minutes until I finally decided to grab my screen-printing
stuff and screen-print the tote bags I had recently dyed. It sounded fun and was something I needed to do anyway (holiday gifts!). But when I
finished cleaning everything up, I went back on the Internet. Or, in other
words: a two-hours-to-myself fail.

Fast forward to a few days later: I was dragging my feet on
a project, distracted and generally frown-y, when it dawned on me that I should
try my hand at taking two hours for myself again, that maybe it would help.
Our apartment was freezing and my first thought was to take a hot shower, but
then, an angel/devil on my shoulder whispered: No! Take a bath, Dingus! Coincidentally, I had just discovered Pandora (I
thought you had to pay for it, so I had never previously checked it out.) and I
put it on the Mazzy Star channel. (Just lost my male readers!) But listen: what
ensued was one of the nicest least expensive things I have ever done for
myself. And when I returned to the world with all of its electronics and
websites and earthly demands, I felt so completely ready to dismiss them. In
fact, I got in bed and opened a book. In the middle of the afternoon! And I
thought to myself, a very specific thought: the only thing missing from this
scenario is crispy potatoes.

It’s funny the things we do when our significant other isn’t
around. I like to light incense, write letters, eat ice cream from the carton
while standing at the kitchen countertop, and watch romantic period movies.
Matt likes to order chicken wings, search the Internet for used camera
equipment, and watch B-horror movies and/or strange documentaries. Of course we
can do these things while the other one is around, but we usually don’t. For
one, I don’t like the way those chicken wings look and Matt thinks the incense
“smells like burning.”

I mention this because as I lay in bed post-bath, I was
reminded of a few things. 1.) Matt had a late meeting after work so I was on my
own for dinner that night. 2.) I actually already had potatoes in the house.
And 3.) I rarely cook myself a thoughtful, delicious meal when it’s just me
showing up for dinner.

I think this should change. Starting with this meal of
crispy potatoes and salad. And please don’t think I phoned in the salad. It’s
very much inspired—specifically, by a salad I’ve eaten on a few separate
occasions at David Lentz’s The Hungry Cat and had been meaning to recreate.
So, from memory—as searching for the recipe online would’ve been a buzzkill—I
tossed together romaine lettuce, sliced hard-boiled eggs, avocado, and lots of
shaved Pecorino, with an olive oil, lemon juice and white wine vinegar
dressing. It came together quickly, and while it didn’t taste exactly the same
as The Hungry Cat’s, it was pretty close. Next time, I’ll try a softer lettuce.
Alas, romaine is what I had in the fridge. The potatoes, on the other hand,
came together less quickly. I was making less than half of what the recipe
called for, and just peeling all of those tiny potatoes took 30 minutes.
And then you have to
boil them, wait for them to cool, and scrape each one with a fork before
roasting for an hour. (So, please pardon the photos as they were taken in low
light.) But if less-than-stellar photography and an hour of prep time in the
kitchen leads you to potatoes this delicious and crispy, so be it!

I
mean, remember the McDonald’s comparisons above? Each one had a shell
layer of crispy potato while the inside remained all soft and fluffy. A
must try for potato lovers. (Mom, I’m talking to you!)

So, where’s that valuable life lesson I was talking about earlier? I think it’s this: take time for yourself and then, and this is key, be nice to yourself. Draw yourself a bath, light a candle or two, and take the time to crisp up some potatoes. You won’t regret it... Have you ever heard anyone say, “Man, I shouldn’t have taken that bath,” or, “Wish I hadn’t made those little crispy orbs of potato.”? But then, what do I know? I’m 30 years old and just took my first bath in over four years.

Preheat
oven to 425°. Working in 2 batches, cook potatoes in a large pot of
boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer
potatoes to a rimmed baking sheet. When cool enough to handle, firmly
scrape the tines of a fork up and down potatoes, creating a rough,
grooved surface.
Pour oil onto another rimmed baking sheet; bake (to
heat oil) for 5 minutes. Add potatoes; turn to coat. Season with 1
tablespoon salt. Roast, turning 3 times during cooking and occasionally
basting with oil, until browned and tender, 60–70 minutes.

love the first image...i can see the wine on the side and those potatoes would have me so happy! great post...me time is something i lack massssivellly! so good when you get it. have a great dec. dayle

Such a great lesson-a good reminder for me to do the same once in a while. You are a very talented writer by the way Amelia! I found your blog through Amy's (The Moveable Feasts) and have added you to my blog roll. Looking forward to many more. And as a potato lover, I can't wait to try these-even if they do require a little bit of time.

Love this message, and you convey it so well! As you get older, you spend most/all of your time tending to things and others. It's all too easy to forget how to shed that sense of responsibility, even for a moment.

I also love the tote bags...and the potatoes....basically every post you do!

I just finished reading a story about "shoulds" and how we live our life according to our shoulds all the damn time. The author found more meaning in following her intuition and listening to the "quiet nudging sensation in my gut". Well I came here right after reading that and the two together made for a perfect my gut tells me to make potatoes, take a bath and read in bed tale. We all need some pushing into sense sometimes.

FOUR YEARS?! FOUR FUCKING YEARS?! Jesus, woman. The bath is, as far as I'm concerned, one of life's great indulgences, and quite necessary for my sanity :).

I guess I'm lucky, because half of what I do involves spending long hours hiking around outside, climbing trees and gathering bits and bobs. It's a lot of time just to myself. I'll often take a picnic and climb up somewhere high and look out over whatever pretty view there is and, well, it's a lot more than 2 hours, a couple of times a week. But the weeks I don't get to do that (like I had one scheduled for today but it's raining and I'm staring out the window like a caged cat) I get a bit (read: a lot) sad.

And I totally know what you mean about couples and their time when the other is away. I light candles and watch Jane Austen adaptations, often in the bath, sometimes with a glass of wine, and stay up really late, and change the sheets and shave my legs and sleep on the diagonal with my arms and legs spread out :).

I feel like I'm reading my own thoughts here--thankfully not on the migraines but definitely on the time-for-myself and the small Yukon golds roasted. We used small Yukon golds (found in the salad section of our grocery) and roasted them and I even said to my husband that they were the creamiest, most flavorful potatoes I'd ever eaten. I want to make them this easy because it will be even so much better.

Reading Bon Appetempt is what I do when I'm taking time for myself! Right now I am lying on the couch with my feet up, reading your wonderful writing, drinking tea, and listening to Christmas music. It's 2:30 in the afternoon. Do I have a problem? No! Up next is work!

Thanks for this great post...I'm forwarding it to someone I know who I think would like it.

3. That is the prettiest incense burner in the world! Matt thinks it smells like burning--that is hysterical. Sometimes I go to work after saging the house, and smell like one big pot head. Which I am not.

Awesome post! I love that your ma loves potatoes. Having married a Midwesterner, I might have the wrong idea about what happens to women who love too many potatoes, know what I mean?

Speaking of mothers, it occurred to me as I read your post that I have my mother to thank for setting a fabulous example for taking time for oneself. That lady knows how to read a novel into the wee hours and takes a religious nap every afternoon. I always thought the napping was especially annoying when I had to be quiet growing up, but if she were on the internet at all now, I would definitely have to give a shout out for the excellent role modeling.

I have that same kind of weird anxiety: "Okay, now I've decided to take two hours for me, but what should I do with it?" Somehow it seems like you've got to pick just the right thing, or do something exceptional and remarkable, which, of course, is a little beyond the point.

A bath sounds perfect. Me, I'm a letter writer. Or sometimes a knitter. And almost always, there's a great cup of coffee involved.

@Rebecca and I are on exactly the same page....Baths are a necessary indulgence.

PS made these potats last night. Except I didn't follow your recipe (a common symptom of my laziness) and boiled them for too long, used russet potats, and didn't scrape with a fork. They didn't turn out perfect, but nothing lots of olive oil and sea salt can't fix. Then I had them for breakfast.

I was listening to Pandora as I read this! (Danny's Song channel, but I'll have to check out Mazzy Star.) Loved the part about doing things by yourself that you don't do with Matt. Somehow I thought only I did that. Silly.

Dear Friends interested in tote bags!I made a listing in my etsy store. check it out! Will put more up as I go, but right now I only have a few (it's kind of a one woman operation)...http://www.etsy.com/listing/88697881/bon-appe-tote

If you'd like it by 12/25, I would advise ordering asap!! Ideally by end of day Thursday so I can ship out on Friday! xoxo

The above was set out, however, before my big culinary change of heart, as documented here. And while we're on the subject of pivotal moments... there have been a few over the (6) years, like this one and this one and, of course, this one AND now this one!